Hadith No: 1
Al-Bayhaqi - al-Sunan al-Kubra - Book of Drinks and Punishments for Them
Chapter on One Who Smells the Odor of Drink from Him or Encounters a Drunk Person
Volume: (8) - Page Number: (547)
[The text is lengthy, so only the relevant excerpt is provided here]
17516 - Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Yahya ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Sukkari narrated to us in Baghdad, saying: Isma'il ibn Muhammad al-Saffar narrated to us, saying: Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Ramadi narrated to us, from Abd al-Razzaq, from Ma'mar, from al-Zuhri, who said: Abdullah ibn Amir ibn Rabiah informed me, and his father had witnessed Badr: that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed Qudamah ibn Muzdun as governor over Bahrain, and he was the maternal uncle of Hafsah and Abdullah ibn Umar.
Then al-Jarud, the chief of Abd al-Qais, came to Umar and said: O Commander of the Faithful, Qudamah has drunk and is drunk. And I saw a punishment from the limits of Allah that I truly believe should be brought to you. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Who witnessed this with you? He replied: Abu Huraira. So he called Abu Huraira and said: What do you testify? He said: I did not see him drink, but I saw him drunk and vomiting. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You are being overly scrupulous in your testimony. Then he wrote to Qudamah to come to him from Bahrain, and he came. Al-Harud stood up to him and said: Enforce this as the Book of Allah commands. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Are you a contender or a witness? He said: Rather, a witness. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You have fulfilled the testimony. So al-Jarud remained silent until the next morning, when he went to Umar and said: Enforce this as the limit of Allah. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I see you are just a contender, and no one among you witnessed it. Al-Jarud said: I beseech you by Allah! Umar replied: Either you hold your tongue, or I will speak ill of you. Abu Huraira said: If you doubt our testimonies, then send for the daughter of al-Walid and ask her, for she is Qudamah's wife. So Umar sent for Hind bint al-Walid to inquire of her, and she upheld the testimony against her husband. Umar said to Qudamah: I am going to administer a punishment to you. He said: If I had drunk as they say, you would not have the right to punish me. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Why? Qudamah replied: Allah, the Almighty, said: {There is no blame upon those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they have eaten} (Surah al-Ma'idah 5:93). Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You have erred in interpretation. If you fear Allah, you should avoid what Allah has made unlawful for you. Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) turned to the people and said: What do you think about whipping Qudamah? They responded: We do not think you should whip him as long as he is ill.
So he remained silent about this for several days, then one day he woke up having made up his mind to whip him. He said to his companions: What do you think about whipping Qudamah? The people said: We do not think you should whip him as long as he is in pain. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: To meet Allah, the Almighty, under the whips is more beloved to me than to meet Him while this is on my conscience. Bring me a complete whip! Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered Qudamah to be whipped. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was angry with Qudamah and ignored him. Qudamah performed Hajj, and Qudamah also performed Hajj with him, remaining angry with him. When they both returned from their Hajj and Umar was settled at al-Suqya, Umar woke up from sleep and said: Hurry to me with Qudamah! By Allah, I see one coming to me. Then al-Salam, Qudamah said: I am your brother, so hurry to me. When they came to him, he refused to come. So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) commanded that if he refused, he should be dragged to him until he spoke to him and forgave him. This was the first reconciliation between them. - This initial part of the story indicates that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) hesitated to accept their testimonies, as they did not come together on witnessing his drinking. And when he punished him, it may be that Qudamah's drinking was established in his mind either by his own admission or the testimony of another regarding his drinking, along with that of al-Jarud.